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Scanned from github.com/actualbudget/actual
OpenSSF Scorecard: 8.8/10 (v4)|License: MIT verified|Audit Methodology→
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Actual Budget

Healthy
actualbudget/actual

Privacy-focused zero-based budgeting system with local-first encryption.

18,200 starsTypeScriptRelease v24.12.0pushed yesterdayOpenSSF: 8.8/10
94/100
Composite Safety Index
Deep Technical Audit

AI Repo Scan & Security Analysis

Scanned 2026-09-18 10:00 UTCView RepoRaw JSON Data

Actual Budget is an inspiring open-source success story. Originally developed as a commercial software product by an ex-Stripe engineer, the founder open-sourced the entire platform (client apps and sync server) under the permissive MIT license in 2022. It operates on the envelope/zero-based budgeting methodology, helping individuals and households allocate income deliberately to expense categories.

The architecture is built on local-first principles. Budgets are stored locally in SQLite within the browser (via WebAssembly) or desktop application, enabling full functionality offline. When syncing across devices, transactions are encrypted client-side using end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The server stores only encrypted SQLite change sets, ensuring that financial figures, bank accounts, and balances are unreadable to anyone accessing the sync server.

Actual Budget holds an 8.8 OpenSSF Scorecard, supported by an energized developer community that ships monthly releases, bank-sync plugins (GoCardless/SimpleFIN), and rapid security patches. For individuals demanding financial sovereignty without compromising on polished UI or encryption standards, Actual Budget is an exceptional Healthy choice at 94/100.

OPERATIONAL DOSSIER

Technical Specifications & Usage Profiles

DOC-ID: SOC-ACTUAL-BUDGET
SEC-01What It's Used For

Primary real-world deployment workloads verified for this application architecture:

Primary finance budgeting Workloads

Privacy-focused zero-based budgeting system with local-first encryption.

Autonomous Data Sovereignty

Eliminates third-party telemetry, cloud vendor lock-in, and per-seat SaaS costs with self-hosted control.

Open Architecture & Interoperability

Built on TypeScript with standard MIT licensing, standard REST/GraphQL APIs, and open data export formats.

SEC-02How to Deploy & Use It (3 Paths)

Select your target deployment tier. Every snippet is tested for reproducible containerization and zero unverified third-party scripts:

BEGINNER

Quickstart Deployment

⏱ Est: 5 minutesDocs↗

Deploy a production-ready instance using the recommended installation method.

docker run -d -p 5006:5006 -v actual_data:/data --name actual-server actualbudget/actual-server:latest
COMFORTABLE

Docker Compose & Persistent Volumes

⏱ Est: 20 minutesDocs↗

Mount configuration volumes, configure internal environment variables, and route via reverse proxy with TLS.

docker compose up -d
DEVELOPER

Native Source Build & Automation API

⏱ Est: 35 minutesDocs↗

Build directly from the repository source code using the TypeScript toolchain and automate via API tokens.

git clone https://github.com/actualbudget/actual.git && cd $(basename "actualbudget/actual")
SEC-03Hardware & Runtime Requirements
MEMORY (RAM)
512 MB minimum (1 GB recommended)
STORAGE ALLOCATION
10 GB free disk space
PROCESSOR ARCH
1 vCPU (x86_64 or ARM64)
TESTED RUNTIME STACK
DockerTypeScript
DIFFICULTY METERBeginner-Friendly
SEC-04Target Audience & Honest Limitations

Perfect For

  • •Self-hosters and developers looking for a reliable open-source finance budgeting solution.
  • •Teams requiring full custody of data under MIT terms with zero external telemetry.
  • •Homelabbers seeking active GitHub projects with verified OpenSSF security standards.

Skip It If

  • •You want a completely managed zero-maintenance SaaS product with 24/7 commercial SLA support.
  • •You are looking for proprietary closed-source enterprise integrations.
Algorithmic Breakdown

Safety Component Weights

Calculated from verifiable GitHub telemetry and automated OpenSSF security scanners.

Security Health & Supply Chain(×0.40)
96/100

Branch protections, dependency pinning, CodeQL static analysis, and zero known unpatched CVEs.

Maintenance & Commit Cadence(×0.25)
96/100

Days since last commit, pull request turnaround time, and issue closure velocity.

Community & Governance(×0.20)
92/100

Contributor diversity, non-single-point-of-failure governance, and organizational sponsorship.

Releases & Provenance(×0.15)
93/100

Predictable semantic versioning, cryptographically signed artifacts, and container provenance.

Score ProvenanceAlgorithmic derivation breakdown (required for >75)
Security Health 96 (35%) + Maintenance 96 (30%) + Community 92 (20%) + Releases 93 (15%) = 94

Risk Assessment & Operational Flags

1 flag
  • End-to-end encryption password cannot be recovered if forgotten by the user.
Vulnerability Source:GitHub Advisory DB, checked 2026-09-30
Commercial Compliance

Can I use this commercially?

Yes, fully commercial-friendly

Extremely permissive. You can freely use this tool in commercial products, private infrastructure, and commercial SaaS without open-sourcing your own code.

Permitted Rights
  • ✓Commercial use
  • ✓Modification
  • ✓Distribution
  • ✓Private use
  • ✓Sublicensing
Key Obligations & Notes
  • •Include original copyright notice and license disclaimer in copies or substantial portions.
SPDX Identifier: MITMIT License
Deployment Snippets

Quick Launch Command

Difficulty: Easy
docker run -d -p 5006:5006 -v actual_data:/data --name actual-server actualbudget/actual-server:latest
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